GOVERNMENT OF IMO STATEPRESS RELEASESUBJECT: SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ENDS IN OWERRI– AFFIRMS THAT NOBODY WAS KILLED DURING RELOCATION OF EKEUKWU MARKET– THAT THE DEATH OF THE 10-YEAR OLD BOY WAS NOT CONNECTED WITH EKEUKWU RELOCATION– AND THAT POLITICAL ELITE WERE BEHIND DEATH RUMOURS BECAUSE OF 2019Security Council Meeting Presided over by Governor Rochas Okorocha and with the Service Chiefs vis-à-vis Principal Government functionaries present, was held on Thursday, August 31, 2017 (today) at the Government House Owerri and the essence was to review the Security Situation in the State and agree on the way forward after the Controversy that arose following the relocation of Ekeukwu Owerri Market last Saturday.

The meeting lasted about 6 hours (from 8am to 1pm).

Briefing Journalists at the end of the meeting, Governor Rochas Okorocha said that the Council “wishes to reiterate that the issue of the relocation of Ekeukwu Market has been politicized by the Political elite who were behind the false rumours because they think that would enhance their Political advantage in 2019 election. So, they should leave election to be and also allow governance to be”.

He also stated that “The Council also reaffirmed that nobody was killed in Ekeukwu as a result of the demolition and those who are claiming that people were killed, parading rumours that are not true should stop doing that. If anyone knows of anybody who was killed as a result of the demolition the person should show Concrete evidence of the person so killed”.He continued “For the little boy of 10yrs old that was killed or murdered as the case maybe, it was not anywhere near the Douglas road that the operation took place and till today nobody has been able to state clearly what led to his death, but I have instructed that a full post mortem must be carried out to ensure the cause of death. We have requested that any interested party could also bring in their pathologist for this exercise”.

His words “we want to inform you that we have made adequate preparations for all the traders in Owerri City because the LAW in Imo State states that no market should be within five kilometers of the Government House and Ekeukwu is one of them and others that are yet to go but will go. We have made adequate arrangements of over eleven thousand shops that have been built for the relocation of these traders. Two in Naze, one in Egbeada, one in relief market, we have more than enough shops for these people to relocate to”.

“I have equally told them that they can relocate to those shops and pay nothing for the period of three months until they are able to put themselves together. I advise that the political elites of this state should desist from parading false rumours”.

“We have also requested all traders who were affected to move to the various markets and the security agents have assured that there would be adequate security, police and civil defence will be providing security at the new markets where they will be relocated because some of the traders have security as their major worries. I have assured them that there will be adequate security at the new places”.

“One good news is that the removal of Ekeukwu will remove cultism and armed robbery. There is no day that pass without two or three robbery taking place in Ekeukwu. We are not finished with the exercise, it is a continous one. New market will also be relocated, they have been given time of which to relocate. We must get Imo better, I’m on rescue mission to get Imo better and so Imo must be better”, he stated.

Sam OnwuemeodoChief Press Secretary to the Governor

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